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vol. 36 num. 2 lang. pthttp://www.scielo.org.za/img/en/fbpelogp.gifhttp://www.scielo.org.za
The relationship between the state and the church during the early history of Pretoria]]>http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1017-04992010000100001&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt
In this article, I shall be discussing the development of the church in the Transvaal and the South African Republic - with specific reference to the situation during the early history of Pretoria. Although I shall highlight the situations within different communities, the main focus of this article is on the relationship between the state and the church in the period 1839 until 1902. As we shall see, during this time, the two institutions protected each other and actually consisted of the same group of leading and influential people. Although these people followed some of the same principles practised in other regions (Cape Colony, Europe), this close relationship between the church and the state harmed the development of both the church and, in many ways, the development of the state in South Africa.The impact of apartheid on the educational endeavours of two missionary agencies]]>http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1017-04992010000100002&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt
Numerous studies have shown how apartheid and the struggle against it influenced a range of Christian denominations and missionary agencies in South Africa, but these investigations have tended to ignore smaller denominations and missions. This article focuses on two of these denominations and missions: the Norwegian Mission Covenant and the Scandinavian Alliance Mission of North America (after 1949 called The Evangelical Alliance Mission). Both were historically rooted in the premillennial revivalism of the Swedish-American evangelist Fredrik Franson. Their missionary workers reacted in various ways to the pressures that increased social engineering along racial lines put on their work among black South Africans. The Bantu Education Act of 1953 removed one of the pillars of their outreach programme - education. Some of their missionaries vigorously criticised apartheid, while others assumed a more passive attitude. This article also discusses the role of their eschatology and the rural/urban emphasis in their ministries in influencing their responses to apartheid.The beautiful birdsong of Tshwane: Preliminary reflections on the beginnings of the Uniting Reformed Church of Southern Africa (URCSA) congregation Melodi ya Tshwane]]>http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1017-04992010000100003&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt
The author recounts the history and reflects on the founding of the URCSA congregation Melodi ya Tshwane in the central business district of the Tshwane metropole. The history of this unique congregation has not yet been written. The congregation grew out of joint services of the various black Dutch Reformed Churches in Pretoria in the 1980s. It was the first black Dutch Reformed congregation constituted in "white" Pretoria. Prof Nico Smith, Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA) pastor in Mamelodi, and Prof JNJ Kritzinger of Unisa played a very important role in the constitution of this congregation, which today forms the centre of various religious and social ministries, as well as URCSA theological education, in central Pretoria.The Pashkovite women in Russia]]>http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1017-04992010000100004&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt
Neither the secular nor ecclesiastical Russia of the second half of the nineteenth century left much room for women's activity outside the home. The situation slowly began to change by the turn of the century when women started to gain access to higher education, jobs, and so forth. From the outset the Radstockist-Pashkovite movement was strongly characterised by the active participation of women. In fact the movement started with women inviting Lord Radstock to St. Petersburg and opening their homes to his sermons/preaching. This article reveals the Pashkovite women to be the main missionaries as the movement spread across the capital. They participated actively in various philanthropic projects. Finally they spared the Pashkovite movement in St. Petersburg some difficult times after the exile of its original leaders in 1884.Luther's middle course: Balancing freedom and service in De Libertate Christiana (1520)]]>http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1017-04992010000100005&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt
Luther published De Libertate Christiana in 1520, but it was two years before the impact of the work was felt. When he returned from the Wartburg in early March 1522, he preached the Invocavit Sermons (9-16 March) thus, in effect, humiliating Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt; as a result, the "Wittenberg Movement" was halted. Contrary to charges that he had abandoned his previous platform for worship reforms, Luther's earlier writings - "Sincere admonition ... against insurrection and rebellion" (1521) and "On the freedom of a Christian" (1520) - show that he did not change his position and that he had,. in fact, argued against offending the weak in faith, urging the distinction between stubborn and simple folk. In De Libertate Christiana (1520), Luther's case for interacting with the stubborn and the weak is grounded in Paul, where Luther finds examples for treating both groups. His media via avoids improper motives and attitudes based on a misunderstanding of the Christian liberty one has through the righteousness of faith - a liberty enacted in Christian love.